Shinigami
by Pharos
Summary: A hidden Colony is discovered and the Preventers are sent to clear it, Wufei faces his greatest challenge ever. Warning: Not for the faint of heart! Completed!
1. Chapter 1

**Shinigami**

Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing Characters so please don't sue me for borrowing them

The stink of stale air filled the room among other scents that made his hair stand on end; dark splatters of blood lined the corridor walls. Weak light barely lit the room. Many would call this place unlivable, but for the past five years this place had been unknowingly inhabited. So close to the sun, no one had ever come across it before now. Wufei coughed as the smell of bile and shit mixed together, someone had decided to make art with the stuff all over the walls of the room. The weak hum of power running through the base came from this room. Wiping his eyes with one hand he reached out to flick the light switch on.

A slender hand reached out and grabbed his at the same time pulling him foreword into the stench with startling strength. Having seen the others that they had managed to capture, Wufei had been certain that none of them could overpower him and had gone on ahead of the search team to try running more power through the base from the control tower. Believing he had nothing to fear he had made his way to the control tower, but this new unseen foe was not what he had expected to find. The others had all been weak and skeletal, having nearly nothing to feed on but each other. They were despicable beings but they had done what they could to survive this hell; now however he could see the folly of his decision to go on alone.

A dirt caked hand, he did not wish to envision what else was on that hand, clamped itself over his mouth when he would have shouted. The other hand held a jagged piece of metal to his neck, one swift flick and it would all be over for him. A shameful way to go if he had ever dreamed of one, to be taken by surprise and cut by someone he had never seen.

"Who are you?" The harsh voice seemed somewhat familiar but he could not place it, nor could he speak with his mouth covered. He made grunting noises and tried to pry the hand away, until then he had not taken a breath, the smell that invaded his nostrils was worse then the smell outside. Slowly the hand came away but the edge of that metal remained on his neck so he dared not move.

"My name is Wufei I'm a Preventer and I'm here to help you." He replied calmly. A slight laugh echoed through his chest from the person holding him.

"Help me? You're a little late for that, aren't you Wu-man?" Wufei felt his eyes trying to climb their way into his forehead at the sound of that voice. He knew that voice, he had not heard it in six years but he knew that voice and that annoying laugh!

"Duo!"

"That's right, but everyone here calls me . . . Shinigami."

Duo, he had not heard that name in such a long time but it seemed to float through him as if awakening a long lost memory. No, he had not been called Duo in a long time too often he had been called Shinigami by the other prisoners for him to even remember _that_ particular name. Cobalt blue eyes stared at the figure standing before one of the computers. A frown appeared on Wufei's face as he concentrated on feeding more power through the base. He could almost remember a time when that frown had been directed at him for what he could not recall.

"It won't work. If you try to feed more power into the base you're liable to blow us all to hell." He chuckled at his own words as if he had made a great joke.

"Then what do you suggest I do? I have men down there fighting people we came here to help." Wufei growled slamming his hands down on the keyboard. "And you're not doing anything to help!"

"I don't help those I can't. You're on your own in this one Wu-man. I just can't bring myself to care about others anymore." He smiled leaning back against the wall. The truth was he did not want help, Wufei's or the Preventers.

"Don't you want to get out of here Duo?" Wufei whispered.

"After five years of this joint? Hell yeah I wanna get outta here. I just don't plan on helping anyone else that's all. I tried helping them before and they nearly killed me for it." Duo's eyes seemed to glow from the malice hidden behind that cheerful smile. Wufei took a step back when Duo moved towards him, the hairs on the back of his neck trying to separate from his skull from the sheer fear that pulsed through his body. This was not the Duo he knew, this was someone else someone far more deadly then the lack wit he had known. "You really wanna get outta here don't you . . . Wufei? I can tell you're afraid." That slow smile spread across his lips as he moved closer until Wufei found himself backed up against the wall.

What was happening? Why did he feel so afraid? Wufei forced himself to swallow as his back hit the wall; he was trapped, trapped with a madman. Duo chuckled softly as he placed his hands on either side of Wufei's head and leaned in close. Wufei found himself staring into those deadly cobalt blue eyes unable to turn away; like prey caught in the gaze of a predator he was trapped.

_This isn't Duo; this isn't the person I once knew!_ His mind screamed at him to run but he was trapped there was no way he could escape.

"Duo . . . ." He couldn't move, fear had paralyzed him it was a fear that Wufei had never felt before in his life but it was there, stopping him from doing anything. Something moved out of the corner of his eyes but all he could see was Duo's eyes as they moved closer to his face. His heart beat frantically in his chest as he shut his eyes not wanting to see anymore. It was as if his courage had returned, his arm came up to grab Duo's wrist, twisting it hard enough to hurt, his fist came up between them knocking Duo backwards.

"Not one of your brighter moments, Wufei . . . letting the enemy get so close to you." A soft chuckle echoed from somewhere in the darkness.

"Enemy? Is that how you see me Duo? As your enemy?"

"Everyone is my enemy, the light is my enemy, those people outside are my enemy . . . even you are my enemy Wufei."

Something clattered to the floor at his feet and he stared down at it warily, slowly he bent down to pick it up. _An information Disk? Why would he give this to me?_

"You really think you can save those people out there Wufei? Do you really believe they're worth saving?"

"Yes, it's my duty as a Preventer to -."

"I'm not asking if it's your _duty_ Wufei! I'm asking if you really believe those people are worth saving!" Duo snapped. Wufei's eyes narrowed as he turned his gaze to the shadows, what was Duo getting at? Why was he asking such a question?

"If you're so unsure . . . ." A hand crept out of the darkness reaching for him.

"Wufei!" The sound of Sally's voice ripped through him like a wave as she suddenly appeared. Duo's hand seemed to disappear at the sound of her voice, sinking back into the dark as Wufei's eyes centered on the silhouette of his partner standing in the doorway. "Are you okay? You're as white as a sheet!"

"I'm fine . . . how's the progress on the evacuation?" He replied moving towards her before she could take more then a step foreword.

"So far everything's going just fine; we've found most of the refugees and there's been no reports of injuries from any of the teams spread out around the base. So far this has been the easiest operation we've had to undertake." Sally sighed as she turned her eyes towards the single computer in the room, "How's the progress on your end?"

"I'm almost done here, why don't you go and help one of the other teams?" She turned her gaze on him, her eyes sharpening in such a way that told him he had said too much.

"Wufei? Are you sure you're okay?" She repeated reaching for him.

"I said I'm fine!" He snapped turning away from her touch, he sighed clinching a fist around the disk in his hand, "Here, I found this in one of the computers I think we'd have better luck deciphering it back at HQ." He placed the disk in her hand and turned her around forcing her from the room.

"I'll report back in a little while don't worry about me okay?" He replied somewhat gently.

"If you're sure . . . ." She gave him one last look before leaving. Wufei watched her leave with a sense of relief; at least it solved one of his problems he did not want Sally to see Duo as he was now.

"How _chivalrous_ of you Wufei, never imagined you would become such a . . . lady's man." The sarcastic chuckle echoed from behind him and he swung his arm intending to knock Duo away. A slender hand grasped his elbow just before the blow could land. "You've got to learn to control that horrible temper of yours Wufei; I have a feeling you're going to be here for quite some time."

"What are you talking -?" He didn't get to finish his question as the entire base shuddered as if it were going to break apart. Wufei caught himself on the edge of the doorway gritting his teeth around the shock of the heaving ground beneath his feet.

"It would have been better if you had never come here at all Wufei . . . it would have been so much better, if you also hadn't touched that computer." Duo shrugged as he took a step back that slow smile spreading across his face widened enough that his teeth showed.

"What -?" The world seemed to leap up and engulf him in a blanket of darkness yet all he could hear was the sound of Duo's laughter as it followed him into the darkness.

"They call me . . . Shinigami . . . ."

The sound of familiar voices pulled him from the darkness. Wufei groaned as he sat up, one hand held against his forehead where the pain seemed to be centered. Dim sounds whispered in his ears as he stared blankly at the faces of people in front of him. He could not think with all that noise!

"Will everyone please be quiet for a moment and tell me what's going on?" He replied calmly as the noise dimmed into silence. The men and women standing around looked at each other uncertainly, then as one their gaze turned towards something that Wufei just could not see from where he sat. Getting to his feet, a helping hand steadied him as the world seemed to spin out from under his feet, Wufei turned his gaze towards what they where looking at. The dim lighting illuminated a single spot in the room and in that light stood Duo or at least he thought it was Duo, the smile on the other boy's face did nothing to remind him of the person he knew. What was even more shocking was the sight of what Duo was leaning back against. A tall circular tube seemed to grow out of the floor, a strange dark liquid filled the tube, and the tube itself was the source of the dim lighting.

"I told you Wufei . . . you should have left, should have high-tailed it out of here while you had the chance." Duo's dark eyes centered on him and that same fear spread throughout his body. This was not the Duo he knew, this was someone else entirely.

"Who are you?" Wufei snapped his eyes narrowing as he gathered what remained of his courage to meet Duo's gaze.

"I told you already Wufei . . . they call me Shinigami. Oh, and by the way . . . welcome to Hell."

"What do you mean we've lost contact with them?"

"They were there one minute and the next thing we knew the thing just . . . disappeared." The soldier on the other line sounded young as she paced up and down the inside of her office. What could have gone wrong? What had happened to Wufei and Sally's team?

"How could an entire colony just disappear?" She knew she sounded angry she could almost see the poor man on the other line flinch at the tone of her voice but she needed answers and the ones he gave were not logical in the least. An entire colony just disappears from all line of radar without an explanation? How could such a thing happen?

"I – I don't know ma'am . . . we'll get right on it and report back as soon as we have more information, I'm really sorry about this." The man replied nervously, oh she really must have lost her temper if it was like that. She highly doubted it would be the same one delivering the report.

Une sighed rubbing her temples as she reluctantly returned to her seat. She had sent Wufei and Sally to that colony under an investigation and what they had reported back had been more then a surprise. She could not imagine what it had been like to live on that colony for five years without anyone knowing. It had probably been longer then that but the thought still made her shiver. There were so many rebel factions out there that it was almost a relief to know that the people found on that colony were not rebels but rather people who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

_If you'd call being trapped on a colony for that long without food a relief._ But now the entire search and rescue team had gone missing, including Wufei. Sally must be in a panic over that little fact; she had been the last ones able to get off the colony when it had disappeared. There were still forty-nine men and women left in that colony when it had . . . disappeared. _What am I going to do?_ A soft knock on her door caught her attention just as it opened. Illuminated by the bright lighting outside of her dark office, stood the one person she never expected to see . . . at least not unless something drastic happened.

"Heero?" The young man that stood in her doorway nodded as he stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. His dark brown hair looked longer then it had been the last time she had seen him, but no one could mistake those calm blue eyes after the first time.

"I've come to ask you a little favor . . . ." Heero looked behind him drawing her attention to another person standing behind him. She had not noticed the girl at first because Heero was so much bigger then she but now Une could take notice of her.

Much smaller then Heero with long golden brown hair tied into equally long pigtails, she wore a pair of dark blue jeans and a plain white shirt around her forehead hung a rather tiny gem suspended by a silky thread of gold. Her dark red eyes were what startled Une; they seemed to absorb even the tiniest fraction of light in the room. It was as if all the light in the room was gathered in those eyes. The girl moved to stand beside Heero, her hands clasped behind her and her head held high.

"This is Luna and she has a rather . . . _unusual_ story to tell you."

Une's eyes centered on the girl at Heero's words. _It's not that Heero hid her, if this girl wanted to be seen she could be . . . ._

"What's the meaning of this Duo?" Wufei shouted pushing past everyone until he was standing in front of Duo. The relief he felt at not seeing Sally was a short lived one.

"I mean just what I said, welcome to Hell." Duo replied calmly giving a slight shrug. "If you can't understand even that little sentence, then maybe you were hit harder then I thought." Duo reached foreword and tapped Wufei on the forehead with his knuckles that sickening smile remained on his face.

"Knock it off Duo!" Wufei replied hitting Duo's hand away as he stepped closer and grabbed Duo by the collar of his shirt. "Tell me what's going on here! I want to know now!"

"Do you really want to know Wufei? Or are you just saying that because you're not used to being kept in the dark? Can't stand not being in control, can you?" Duo laughed as he stared into Wufei's eyes with that same intense look. Wufei gritted his teeth as he pulled back his fist and slammed it into Duo's gut before shaking him as roughly as he could.

"Are you awake now Duo? Tell me what's going on here right now!"

"My, but he's a noisy one . . . isn't he Shinigami?" A whisper soft voice echoed from somewhere in the darkness catching Wufei's attention. Wufei gave a grunt as Duo's fist slammed into his gut, the sound of bone breaking and the flash of pain made him gasp.

"Yeah, you just needa know how to shut him up is all." Duo replied calmly as Wufei fell to his knees. The sound of moving feet as the rest of his men tried to move foreword to help him was stopped so suddenly Wufei was not entirely sure he heard it to begin with.

"Don't take too much of the fun Shinigami, leave some of them for us." The harsh whisper sounded barely human.

"Oh, don't worry guys . . . I'd never do that." Duo bent down his hand wrapping around Wufei's neck forcing him to get up or run the risk of being choked. "I really have to thank you Wufei . . . the others were near death when you guys came along. I was at my wits end thinking of way to feed them, even resulted to cannibalism . . . you really saved us."

"Duo . . . ." Wufei gasped as Duo's hand gripped tighter around his neck, pulling Wufei close enough so that the only thing he could see was Duo's eyes. Those same hypnotic eyes that had caught him the first time.

"I told you already . . . my name is Shinigami."


	2. Chapter 2

**Shinigami 2**

Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing Characters so please don't sue me for borrowing them . . . .

He stared idly at the cell door quietly contemplating how best to break free of his confines, the chains on his wrists and ankles rattled whenever he moved and made movement impractical and painful to say the least. The sound of keys rattling outside his cell drew his attention as much as the footsteps did. A shadow blocked the red light that shined into his dismal little confinement.

"You awake now Wufei?" The chiming sound of Duo's voice made him glare at his former friend. "Now, now don't give me that look; I did warn you that you should have never come. I even tried to get you to leave. I guess you should be grateful though, most of your men survived . . . and at least Sally wasn't part of the hunt."

"You _bastard_!" Wufei cursed making it to his knees before the chains sent him crashing to the floor.

"Yea might wanna ease up there Wufei; those chains can be pretty heavy sometimes." Duo smirked as he bent down to stared at him, "I should know they were once mine." Duo held up his wrists to show the red scars that circled them.

Wufei stared at Duo's wrists in an effort to avoid looking into those piercing eyes that could hold him in their icy grip so easily. This . . . person standing before him was not Duo, could not be the Duo that Wufei had known during the war. This person was different, cold, calculating and sure whereas Duo had always seemed like someone trustworthy with a quick smile and an equally quick wit. Needless to say, he missed that Duo, because that Duo was predictable, the one he faced right now . . . .

"Scared, Wufei?" Duo's voice whispered in his ear. Duo stood taking hold of the chains as he pulled Wufei to his feet. The rattle of chains echoed in Wufei's ears as Duo reached high to lace the chains over a hook protruding from the ceiling of the cell. Wufei grunted as he stood there with his arms suspended above him by that hook. Duo's eyes flashed dangerously as he took hold of Wufei's chin, a flash of silver and the jagged edge of a piece of rusted metal came to a screeching halt right in front of Wufei's left eye. "Want me to show you why they called me Shinigami?"

There was something behind those eyes that Wufei thought he recognized but it was gone before he could remember what it was.Wufei glared up at Duo pulling his chin out of Duo's grasp despite the threat of getting his eye sliced, he brought back his leg and kicked Duo as hard as he could in the balls. Wufei did not even see Duo's hand move but suddenly he was lying flat on the floor with Duo on top of him. Duo's face hovered just inches from his, an arrogant smirk spread across Duo's face as he stared down at Wufei. Duo's hands stretched upwards pulling the chains that bound Wufei's wrists until his hands were stretched out above him.

"Get off me you asshole!" Wufei cursed struggling to throw Duo off him.

"Why should I? You are my prisoner after all, aren't you . . . Wu-chan?" Duo's face moved closer until his forehead rested against Wufei's. "I can do whatever I want with you . . . ."

"Duo . . . get the _hell_ off me!" Wufei cursed again giving one last successful push to throw Duo off him.

Duo chuckled as he got to his feet staring down at Wufei as the Chinese boy rolled onto his feet despite the heavy chains.

"Tense . . . aren't you Wu-chan?" Duo laughed as he stepped aside avoiding Wufei's mad charge foreword with ease. "Or is it that you _wanted_ me to take advantage of you?" Duo stepped backwards out of the cell and shut the door. A loud thud echoed from the other side as Wufei slammed into the door repeatedly cursing for Duo to come back and fight.

"You lied to him, Shinigami." A low voice whispered against his ear and he turned to see Ami standing behind him with a slight smile on her face.

"About what?" He asked innocently as he moved off down the hall.

"About his comrades . . . you know as well as I do that none of them survived the hunt." She replied stepping in beside him. "Giving him false hope won't end his suffering any quicker, you know that."

"Ami, the only reason I tolerate your presence is because Luna trusts you . . . ." Duo rounded her, grabbing hold of her arm and throwing her against the wall. "But betray me . . . and you're in for a _world_ of hurt. I'll make what I did to those men and women look like a _mercy_ killing. Do you understand that?"

"Loud and clear, Shinigami . . . loud and clear." She replied.

"Leave Wufei to me . . . I'll deal with my former comrade as I see fit." Duo growled as he pushed her aside and walked away. He knew without turning that she would follow him, ever since the day he had met the two girls he had felt a strange connection with them and the glass cylinder they protected so fiercely. Luna, the youngest of them all, had managed to escape to the outside world as they had planned but the complications that had happened as a result worried him. Ami would not speak more on the matter but he knew that Luna's escape had something to do with the sudden increase in aggression. Only his history kept the two of them from being next on the menu, after all who would be stupid enough to try and kill a God of Death?

_We can't last much longer . . . Luna I hope your doing better on your side then we are over here._

Lady Une felt her knees shake and was certainly glad that she was sitting down. When she had seen Heero walk in with this girl and heard him say that she had a story Une should listen to, this was not what she expected. At first she did not believe a word the girl said, who in their right mind would? After all, everything she said seemed like something out of a fairy tale, there seemed to be nothing _logical_ about her story at all! Luna seemed to have sensed her disbelief because halfway through her story she stopped and glared up at Heero as if to say that she knew this would happen.

"That's a lovely story but if you'll excuse me, I need to find my missing men before anything else goes wrong." Une had replied in irritation, she did not have time to entertain the fantasies of a single child.

"Shinigami told me this would be useless!" Luna had shouted angrily her fists clinched at her sides, "It's senseless to try and explain such things to people who have closed their minds to the possibilities!" Heero had taken hold of Luna's hand to stop her from leaving and looked back at Une.

"Lady Une, you know me. I would not have brought her here if I thought her story to be untrue." Heero replied calmly. Une sighed as she nodded for them to continue remaining silent until Luna had finished, and even then she did not believe the girl. It was not until Heero had . . . demonstrated the _truth_ of Luna's words in a rather drastic move. She had watched as Heero had pulled out a small pocket knife and sliced the blade across the girl's wrist. Une cried out too late for Heero to stop too panic stricken to see that Luna was unharmed and that the wound had closed as soon as the blade had left skin. Luna lifted her arm to show the healed wound as if it obvious, flexing her fingers to show that she had taken no damage.

"Are . . . are the others like you?" Une asked looking up at the child.

"No . . . every one of us is different but _extremely_ powerful. Shinigami is the only other one, the others . . . I don't know about them." Luna shrugged, "Spend five years in a place like that . . . and you'd be _dying_ to get out, _literally_."

"Then how did you escape?" Une demanded. This girl, and everyone like her were a danger to the peace and she had to take command of this fire before it got out of hand.

"Shinigami let the shield down long enough for me to escape . . . it was dangerous but we were getting desperate." Luna replied easily.

"Who is this Shinigami?" Une frowned she felt like she should remember that name for some reason but just could not place a face to it.

"He always called himself a God of Death on the battlefield . . . hearing her stories I suppose he's finally become one for real." Heero whispered more to himself then to anyone else.

"He was once called another name . . . it has been long since I used it, since anyone used it to be truthful," Luna frowned in thought, "But I think he was once called . . . Duo."

Wufei jerked awake at the sound of keys rattling and pushed himself upright against the wall, ignoring the pain that screamed through his body from sleeping on the cold hard floor with the chains on his wrists and ankles. Twice now blood had seeped through the raw flesh and much of it now stained the floor he lay on. Dark black eyes looked up to meet Duo's hypnotic cobalt blues as he stood over him like the dark apparition he had become. Wufei struggled to stand, unwilling to allow this Duo the chance to see him weak and unguarded. How long he had been in the cell, Wufei could not remember what he could remember was that the keys generally signaled Duo's arrival.

"Let's go." Duo replied grabbing the chains in one hand he pulled Wufei out behind him before the other boy knew what was going on. Wufei struggled to keep up but the half healed wounds on his ankles prevented him from walking very far or very fast for that matter. He did not know how many steps he took outside the cell but he did know that the ground had suddenly rushed up to greet him. Duo stopped looking down at Wufei with those compelling eyes but try as he might, Wufei just could not get his feet to function properly.

"Damn it Wufei." Duo cursed as he bent down and lifted Wufei up into his arms with an angry snarl. "I don't have time for this!" Duo swung around and dropped Wufei onto a cold hard metal table; the chains rattled as Duo unlocked them and let them fall to the ground. Wufei was coherent enough to know that the chains were off and he was free but he could not make his limbs move. Duo 'tsked' over and over again as he rummaged through something behind him pulling out white boxes and other things from some unseen drawer.

"How long do you think he has?" A new voice spoke up from the other side of Wufei but he could not take his eyes off what Duo was doing long enough to see who had spoken.

"Not long, maybe a few hours if the wounds don't bleed too much and if he lives through the first stage." Duo turned back around to face the person on the other side of Wufei, "Don't interrupt me when I'm working Ami, go outside and make sure the others don't get in."

"Can you blame them? He's about the only one left and they want to see what you'll do to him."

"Get out or die, it's your choice." The malice in Duo's voice was not fringed; he really would kill the person if he or she did not do as Duo said. If the other person left or not no longer matter when Duo's eyes turned back on him, that gaze capturing him like a deer caught in the headlights of a car.

"I'd be lying if I told you this wouldn't hurt . . . ." Duo replied as he lifted a syringe filled with a strange dark red liquid. Wufei could not remember what happened when the needle pierced his skin and the liquid hit his blood stream, he could not remember much of anything after Duo had spoken those words. All he could remember was the blinding pain that seared through his body and the rapidly closing darkness that engulfed him a moment later.

The sound of screams echoed in his mind as he shut the cell door behind him, leaning back against the door for some support. When had his plan gone horribly wrong? When had the world become drenched in blood and screams? He could no longer remember when his life had become this living hell, all he could remember was that this was hell and he had somehow become its keeper.


	3. Chapter 3

**Shinigami 3**

Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing Characters so please don't sue me for borrowing them . . .

_He woke in darkness, listening to the sound of his own breathing as it echoed off the unseen walls. Blinding pain raced up his body as he slowly pushed himself off the cold hard ground, by the time he managed to get into a sitting position with his back to the wall his lungs felt like they were on fire. His mind was a mess of information, broken bones, bruised ribs, it seemed like his body was finally going to give out on him. _A pity, I wanted to pay these bastards back in kind for that they've done to me so far._ He had learned to move without making a sound; even the chains on his wrists and ankles would no longer betray him._

_He had tried living with the memories of his past still fresh in his mind, but those memories had proved to be more of a burden then an asset. The more he tried to remember the past, the more pain they inflicted until it became unbearable to even picture his past and the life he had once lived. _Worthless_ that was what his past had become . . . a burden that he was much better off not remembering. To live now, he would have to become someone else . . . someone much stronger then he was right now._

_"Why not become a God?" A soft voice spoke from somewhere in the darkness. Even with his new senses he had not noticed her sitting in the corner of his cell with a smug smile on her face._

_"Become a God?" He whispered coldly._

_"I heard that in your past, you once called yourself a God . . . why not become that God once more?" She chuckled as if the thought were amusing. A smile spread across his face at the same thought, in order to survive he could no longer be the person he was now . . . so why not become a God?_

_"Shinigami . . . ."_

"Shinigami . . . is that what you still call yourself? I thought you gave up that name years ago when we left our lives as pilots behind us." The sound of Wufei's voice jerked him out of his sleep. Duo lifted his head staring into the darkness to where Wufei sat propped up against the wall. He should give Wufei some credit, he healed much faster then Duo thought he would even with the aid of medicine. _So he's figured out the trick with the chains?_ Duo snickered leaning his head back against the cold metal walls of the cell.

"What's so damned funny?" Wufei cursed his temper flaring at the thought of being laughed at.

"You are . . . are you still clinging to the idle hope that 'Duo' will return and everything will be alright?" Duo shook his head, "Was I ever this stupid?" Duo sighed as he pushed himself up onto his feet and moved towards the door.

"If you weren't the Duo I know, then why did you save me? A few more days like this with these wounds and I probably would have died from infection."

The question hovered in the heavy silence as Duo stood in the doorway; pale red light illuminated his form and cast a shadow against the metal floor.

"Don't get ahead of yourself Wufei . . . I'm keeping you alive so I can have a little more fun before Luna returns." Duo replied sliding the door shut behind him.

"I don't believe you." The sound of Wufei's muffled voice reached his ears and he laughed.

"I don't really care if you believe me or not . . . it's fun either way."

The sound of footsteps approaching her from behind made her tense, a hand touched her shoulder and she spun knocking it away as she brought the silver knife up for the killing blow. Heero's hand clamped over hers twisting until the knife fell out of her grasp, his eyes were cold and calculating as he watched her. Luna sighed, relaxing slightly at the sight of him; she barely felt the pain in her arm as she waited calmly for Heero to release her. After a moment Heero's grip relaxed and he let go of her arm bending down to pick up the knife.

"What are you doing in here?" Heero turned his gaze towards the kitchen counter and the blood that spread out around the small body of a half-eaten cat. "You can't eat that." He sighed moving towards the cupboards in search of a trash bag.

"There's nothing else." She replied watching him as he pulled out a small white kitchen trash bag and scooped the dead cat inside it.

"I hope this wasn't anyone's pet." He replied. When he had first met Luna he had been unsure what to do with her, more over he was still unsure what to do around her. The girl would eat any meat, so long as it was still bleeding and fresh. He had discovered her other love was the flesh that came right off a living creature, that was the only thing that shocked him now. _That first night, she killed the dog from next door . . . the night after that it was a rat. I don't know if I can take much more of this._

"It was a stray . . . and it wasn't easy to catch." She replied moving towards his fridge. Heero twitched on the inside whenever he opened his fridge now, somehow she had managed to collect an entire stock full of blood and he was quite certain he did not want to know how.

"Don't go killing things, it was hard explaining even a small part of you to Lady Une what do you think she'll do if she finds out about _this_ part of you?" He asked tossing the tied up bag into the outside trashcan. He turned around and stopped short when he realized she was standing in front of him.

"Why did you believe me?" She whispered her hand snaked up his neck until her nails touched the skin just below his chin. "Why aren't you scared of me the way that lady was? What makes you so different?"

"I'm not so easily scared, and as for why I believe you . . . it's because you know Duo and as far as I know Duo isn't one to lie with a straight face." He replied calmly.

"You should see him now . . . ." She smiled pulling her hand away from his neck. "Shinigami really lives up to his name you know."

"Why are you calling off the search? We haven't even found our men yet!" Sally voice shouted over the intercom making Une flinch at the sound of it. She had given the order and was expecting this kind of outburst but it just could not be helped, circumstances were firmly out of her hands now. _I'm terribly sorry Sally . . . I know what this is doing to you but I have to do it._

"Are you questioning my orders Sally Po? I want you and your team to pack up and return to headquarters do I make myself clear?" Une replied firmly. How could her voice sound so calm when she herself was being slowly ripped apart inside at the mere thought of how helpless they had all become in light of this new enemy. _And once again we must place our lives in the hands of those whose very existence seems to be the only thing keeping our peace safe. Forgive me master Treize . . . ._

"Yes ma'am." Sally replied almost coldly as the intercom went dead. Lady Une sighed as she put her face in her hands, the helpless feeling grew with each passing moment, and would they make it in time?

"We'll take it from here, Lady Une." The sound of Heero's voice made her look up with a tired sigh that seemed to have become a force of habit. Her eyes turned towards the girl that stood beside Heero and she felt tears welling up in her eyes at the thought of what they were about to do.

"It will all end soon . . . Shinigami made a promise that it would all end soon." Luna replied calmly her eyes seemed to glow with the excitement that she must be feeling right about then.

"May God have mercy on you both." Lady Une whispered as the two turned and walked out of the room. Luna paused in the doorway and looked back at her with a sad look on her face.

"God? I'm afraid you are going to have to believe in a different God in order to pull this one off . . . Mercy has nothing to do with the God of Death."

Wufei stared at the shadowed corners of his cell with suspicious intent, Duo had not come back for some time now and it worried him somehow. Maybe it was being alone that for so long that worried him, to be honest Wufei could not remember the last time he had been alone without anyone by his side. _Have I become this weak that I require the presence of another in order to keep my sanity?_ Had he really sunk so low in those five years? He was ashamed to admit it but he missed the company of others more then he cared to realize. A loud crash startled him from his thoughts as the door flew open and Duo rushed inside followed closely by a young female. From the looks in their eyes they were not here to chat.

"Get up." Duo replied coldly even as he pulled Wufei to his feet by the chains. Wufei barely had time to speak before Duo half-dragged him out of the cell and the girl followed closely behind them. Wufei glanced behind him at the girl, he recognized her from that first horrible night but the calm look on her face was gone replaced by a firmly guarded look. Ahead of him, Duo muttered under his breath as he led them through the twists and turns until they reached what Wufei had come to know as the center of the Colony, with the large tube sticking out of it. The eerie red glow coming off the tube illuminated the mass of people standing in the room, Wufei balked at the sight of all those people.

Duo jerked the chain hard and he stumbled to his knees amid the harsh laughter that filled the room at the sight of him. Wufei felt his anger surfacing as Duo dropped the chains and walked away without looking back as if he were nothing more then a dog. Pushing himself to his feet, Wufei found himself quickly surrounded by the others in the room. Leering faces watched him with hunger in their eyes; a few licked their lips whispering among themselves. Wufei caught a bit of what they were saying and suppressed the urge to shiver at the words they spoke. His memory brought up the image of what he had seen along the walls of the Colony and the realization dawned on him as to what most of that mess was. He met with Duo's eyes from across the room and saw what he did not want to see a deep yearning hunger raged behind those calm Cobalt eyes and a glimmer of . . . regret. The crowd closed in so suddenly that Wufei barely had time to react, in every pair of eyes he saw he could see the same hunger, the same yearning for blood that he saw in Duo's. These people . . . they were no longer human.

Duo wanted to look away, but he could not. To appear weak would invite death; even now he did battle with his own inner demon. He fought hard not to join the crowd as they circled around Wufei like a pack of jackals. He could hear the rattling of Wufei's chain as he moved, fending off one attacker after another in a desperate attempt to live. One by one, the fallen picked themselves back up and rushed back into the fray, Wufei was not fighting to kill and that would be his downfall. _I can't step in for you buddy . . . this time you're on your own._

"Isn't this rather cruel?" Ami asked suddenly drawing his attention back to her. "He was your friend once, and now you feed him to the jackals like he were no more then an enemy."

"I have no friends just people who have out lived their usefulness." Duo whispered coldly glaring down at her. "You'll do well to remember that Ami." She blinked at him but did not speak another word as he moved past her into the crowd.

He could feel his blood pumping in his chest; feel the spike in adrenaline and the strangely pleasant pain that came with it. Without pause, he threw those in front of him out of the way, crushing their necks as he grabbed them and threw them over his shoulder like they were pieces of cloth. The crowd seemed to part, most of them rushing towards the fallen dead rather then face the fury in the middle. His vision turned red as he made his way through the crowd to its center where Wufei stood heaving air into his lungs. At the sight of him, many of the others stepped back turning on the weaker ones who had been injured by Wufei.

Barely able to stand, Wufei turned his gaze towards Duo, whatever he saw there made him stand completely still. Duo watched as Wufei swallowed, following the motion of Wufei's throat with his eyes even as the blood raged inside him. Wufei took a step backwards but that seemed to be as far as his body was willing to take him, dark black eyes filled with a grim understanding as he stood their calmly waiting. Duo felt like screaming at him to run, to get away but the only thing that showed on his face was a cold smirk.

"You're giving up Wu-chan?" Duo chided as he moved closer with slow deadly grace.

"What would be the point of fighting you Duo? We were comrades once; I want to believe that we still are comrades." Wufei sighed, his eyes filled with renewed strength and belief. "I want to go on believing that you are still the crazy bastard who loved life so much."

Duo's hands closed around Wufei's neck, lifting him up off the ground with effortless ease. Wufei grabbed hold of Duo's wrists but made no move to stop him. _I want to believe that we are still comrades. _His vision blurred even as he watched the last breath leaving Wufei's body, watched as his arms went slack and dropped away from Duo's wrists. _I want to go on believing that you are still the crazy bastard who loved life so much._


	4. Chapter 4

**Shinigami 4**

Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing Characters so please don't sue me for borrowing them . . .

The steady silence that echoed inside the Colony set his nerves on fire with each silently echoing step they took down the deserted hallways. He tried not to look at the stains that spread out against the walls, tried not to breath in the smell of decay and rot but it was all too powerful to ignore. Fifteen years, this unknown colony had existed drifting around Earth's orbit for fifteen whole years without once being detected. Cloaked in the same technology that had built the Gundam's. Of those fifteen years, five had been spent on one of his old comrades. Five years spent thinking that Duo had just gone missing when in truth he had been living in this hell hole, the product of an illegal experiment.

Ahead of him Luna crouched low examining the blood marks on the right side of the wall, her fingers traced the strange marks with intimate knowledge. She glanced up at him then looked steadily away as she continued foreword without speaking a word. She had not spoken since they had landed on the Colony, a feat which had not been easy considering the rotational rate of the Colony itself. Heero felt in his pocket for the remote detonator as if seeking comfort in something he knew. It had not been easy getting the explosives from the Preventers storage but it would have taken him months just to get enough supplies to build his own. It was months that they did not have. The hallways seemed to go on forever, twisting and turning until he thought they would go on forever, until Luna finally stopped before a large door.

"This is it." Luna sighed as she looked back at him.

"Let's get this over with." Heero replied calmly. She nodded and reached her hand out towards the door stopping just inches from the knob before turning it and pushing the door open. Heero did not know what to be prepared for . . . but he was certainly not prepared for what he saw past that open door.

"Duo _no_!" A familiar voice cried out from somewhere in the room but he could not hear it, the blood rushing to his ears drowned out even the smallest bit of noise. Hands wrenched him away from his prize and he hissed in anger turning on the one who dared to come between him and his victory. A pair of cold Persian blue eyes stared back at him as a fist dug into his gut knocking the wind out of him. _Heero . . . ._ The name echoed through his mind as the ground rushed up to meet him. Sucking in air through his teeth, Duo felt the blood drain out of him as reality came crashing down around him.

The taste of blood in his mouth made him gag as everything came crashing down on top of him; five years went by with slow accuracy as he watched in horror at the things he had done in order to survive. He shut his eyes trying to will them all away, but the demons just kept coming. When the final demon came he wanted to scream at it to go away. _I want to go on believing that you are still the crazy bastard who loved life so much._

"Wu . . . fei . . . ." He choked on the name as tears rolled down his face uncontrolled and free. "What have I done? What in Gods name have I done?" A hand touched his shoulder and he flinched away from it, weeping at the unfairness of it all. He had become a monster . . . a cold unfeeling monster. Worse, he had killed one of his friends . . . had watched as the last breath of life had left their body then . . . . Duo heaved violently, his stomach muscles contracting painfully in an effort to expel what was inside him.

"Damn it . . . don't die on me Wufei you stupid bastard!" The sound of Heero cursing brought him back from the brink as he turned his head to see Heero kneeling beside Wufei's body trying to hold down the pulsing wound on Wufei's neck. _He's alive!_

"He won't be for long . . . ." The sound of Luna's voice jerked him upright; it had been her hand on his shoulder offering what little comfort she could. "He's loosing too much blood, if Shinigami were here he would know what to do."

"What are you talking about? Duo's right there!" Heero cursed returning to his attention to the wound on Wufei's neck.

"This isn't Shinigami." Luna replied touching Duo's head gently. "Shinigami and Duo are two different people, they have different personalities. Shinigami has never shed even one tear for the people he's killed over the years." She brushed away the tears on Duo's face as she looked into his eyes. "Shinigami and Duo are two people in the same body."

"An alter-ego? Are you _kidding_ me! Damn it, I can't stop the blood flow!" Heero cursed in frustration, "How do we get Shinigami to come out?"

"We don't, only Duo can call him out now." Luna whispered. Call him out? Was she kidding? He would never allow that monster out ever again! Not so long as he lived! "At this rate, your friend will die in another minute or so."

"Damn it Duo! You're the only one that can stop this!" Heero shouted.

"I can't . . . I can't . . . please don't make me call him . . . please don't make me . . . ." Duo whispered clinching his eyes shut.

"Duo, Wufei is _dying_!"

_He's dying and this time it'll be your fault . . . ._ Duo clamped his hands over his ears in an attempt to shut out the insistent voices that crowded in around him. He felt like the room was getting smaller and smaller on him, could feel his blood pulsing in time to the room shrinking until it felt like he was in a very small box with no way out. He sensed rather then saw the person standing behind him, the dark aura that surrounded him gave off a pleasant feeling that seemed to soothe him. Turning slowly Duo stared up into the cold mesmerizing gaze of Death, it did not matter that the face he saw was his own, and he knew who this person was. _Shinigami._ Death nodded reaching out his hand to him. _Save him . . . please save my friend, I don't care if I die so long as Wufei is okay._ Death watched him with sad eyes as Duo placed his hand into that cold grip.

Strong hands removed Heero's from their grip on the fatal wound and he glanced up in shock to see Duo standing beside him. A pair of cold eyes looked at him for only a moment before turning their attention back on the bleeding Chinese that lay between them. Heero stepped back as he watched Duo – no, the one standing before him was no longer Duo. This was Shinigami the other Duo that lay deep inside the tender caring Duo he knew. Slowly, Shinigami leaned closer to the wound wrapping his lips around Wufei's neck Heero stepped foreword ready to pull the two apart but a hand on his shoulder stopped him from going any further.

"Shinigami knows what he doing . . . you need not worries." Luna whispered as she moved towards the giant tube sticking out of the middle of the room. Heero blinked, in the confusion of trying to save the near dead Wufei, he had not noticed anything else. Now he could see that the room was crowded with people, most of them dead and the ones that were alive . . . Heero looked away from the sight not wanting to see anymore then he already had. Luna touched the side of the tube and it seemed to glow brighter as if welcoming her back. "This is the end . . . we have waited fifteen whole years for this." The whispered words almost did not reach his ears as he watched the eerie sight unfolding before him. Luna pressed her head against the cool glass sighing contently as she shut her eyes and just listened.

"It's been a long time . . . Heero." The cold voice drew his attention back towards Shinigami, who stood carrying Wufei in his arms. Blood leaked down his lips as a cold sadistic smile spread across his face. "Did you come to help? You could have just sent the girl back here."

"With a shuttlecraft full of explosives? Do I look that stupid?" Heero asked.

Shinigami chuckled as he laid Wufei down on the floor, shrugging his shoulders as he stepped away. "If Luna had not brought the explosives then I would have had to figure out another way to destroy this place. Sending into the sun just sounded like a very bad idea."

"Why? Not sadistic enough for you?" Heero quipped looking down at Wufei, who was sleeping calmly now.

"Don't worry; he won't become like me or Luna. I tried and his blood's just too stubborn to take the virus in." Shinigami replied calmly, wiping the blood from his lips with the back of his hand.

"And Duo? What's his excuse?"

"Duo and I? Well, we're not like the others. I retain control and Duo . . . well Duo was safe but you changed all that before I could work on it." He answered coldly.

"And what would you have done?"

"Shinigami's plan involved Duo escaping with no memory; his body clean of the virus that created us." Luna answered calmly.

"And if that didn't work?" Heero turned to Shinigami with narrowed eyes, "Duo would have ended up spreading the virus."

"It would have worked . . . because it worked on Luna." Shinigami answered calmly.

"On Luna!" Heero turned his gaze towards Luna in disbelief.

"I retained some parts of the virus, but that's only because I've lived with the virus much longer then Duo has." She replied turning to face him, "I've lived with it for fifteen years now."

"She was the first to be infected, Duo was the last." Shinigami explained. "It took them three years to break him down enough for the virus to take effect . . . but it will only take him two days for the anti-virus already in his system to reassert itself, but now I don't think that is possible."

"Why not?" Heero demanded. Shinigami stared silently up at the tube without saying a word and Heero turned his gaze towards Luna.

"Because you stopped Shinigami and brought the real Duo out, that Duo no longer wishes to live. The memories of Shinigami have become a part of Duo." She replied softly. "In exchange for Wufei's life . . . Duo is willing to die."

Heero stared in stunned silence at the two of them, then down at Wufei. In exchange for his friend's life, Duo had sacrificed his only chance of survival? _You stupid moron . . . ._

"And now, we have some unfinished business to attend to before we begin." Shinigami turned to him with a grim smile on his face. "Don't take this too personally Heero . . . but -." Heero grunted as Shinigami's fist slammed into his gut, the dim blackness started to crowd his vision as he stared into those cobalt blue eyes. "That's one for one, eh Heero?"

_Duo . . . ._

". . . shuttlecraft . . . there? . . . peat . . . Preventers . . . contacting . . . craft . . . 09 . . . Heero . . . ?"

He groaned as he struggled through the dark cloak of unconsciousness. Heero blinked at the blinding light that shined above him, the feel of cold metal beneath him told him he was laying on the floor of the shuttlecraft. The last thing he remembered was . . . . Heero jerked upright, ignoring the blinding pain that came with the sudden movement his eyes darting across the shuttlecraft floor until they landed on Wufei's body lying not far from him. Crawling over to the other boy, Heero noticed something stuck to the control console but decided that checking on the other boy was more important. The light sound of his breathing relaxed him somewhat and he finally turned his attention towards the control console. Getting to his feet, Heero pulled off the piece of paper attached to the controls his eyes gliding over the words written on it.

_By now you've woken up and are probably really angry at me for what I did . . . but you have to admit, you hit me first. I'm sure that if you look out the shuttlecraft window you'll see a whole bunch of Preventers Shuttlecrafts floating about along with what's left of the colony. To tell you the truth, the sun probably wouldn't have hurt as much as the explosions will but I can't risk it. Luna and I discovered that the virus becomes ineffective when exposed to the zero-degree temperature out in space Wufei should be waking up right behind you, literally Heero . . . he's right behind you._

_Anyhow, I hope you understand that this was the only thing we could do . . . it was the reason I was chosen as the last. I really hope I've lived up to my name . . . and that you won't forget me when all this is over. Don't tell Hilde . . . don't tell her what I did I couldn't stand it if she knew what I had become . . . sorry but this is all I can say right now. Shinigami and I are finally at peace, you really did live up to your part of the plan Heero and I thank you for that. I guess I'll see you guys later, right?_

_Sign, Duo Maxwell_

_And Shinigami-san_

Heero let the paper fall from his grasp as he stared out the window at what he knew would be there, just like the letter said. Behind him, Wufei laid a hand on his shoulder as the two of them stared at the debris floating around outside. _To save his friend's he gave up his life._

Lady Une stared out the window of Preventers HQ, watching the night sky with tears in her eyes. Balls of light fell from the sky like blood red teardrops.


End file.
